Pipe coupling



P820]. UR 2,463,707

March 8, 1949. J MATOUSEK 2,463,707

PIPE COUPLING Filed July 3, 1947 Patented Mar. 8, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PIPE COUPLING John A. Matousek, Parma, Ohio Application July 3, 1947, Serial No. 758,952

1 Claim. 1

My present invention comprises a novel and improved form of coupling adapted to provide a tightly sealed connection for relatively thinwalled pipe or tubing.

A principal object of my invention is to provide a special form of pipe engaging member designed to extend circumierentially around the pipe or tubing to be coupled and adapted, in the coupling operation, to be compressed into tight sealing engagement with said tubing and with the pipe or tubing receiving member without causing fracture oi the tubing with which the pipe en gaging member is associated.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a pipe engaging member which will continue to have tight seating engagement with the tubing receiving member although the coupling is made and unmade many times in the course of its use.

The coupling of my invention essentially comprises a pipe receiving member or body. a member clrcumierentlally engaging the pipe or tubins. and a nut having threaded connection with the pipe receiving member or body and adapted to co-operate with the pipe engaging member to draw the parts into coupling relation. The pipe engaging member is of novel form and essentially consists of an integral sleeve or collar adapted to circumierentially engage the pipe or tubing and having a cylindrical portion and a oonically tapered portion with a weakened connection therebetween permitting deformation of a C!- lindrical portion relative to the conically tapered portion.

The pipe receiving member or body of the coupling of my invention has an internal shoulder or ledge adapted to engage the pipe or tubing receiving therein and extending away from the said ledge or shoulder is a flared or conlcally tapered portion oi substantially the same configuration and approximately corresponding to the eonically tapered portion of the pipe engaging member. The not having threaded co-operatlon with the pipe receiving member oi the coupling co-operates with the pipe engaging member circumierentially engaging the pipe to be coupled, when the latter is engaged against the shoulder aforesaid, to cause the pipe engaging member to be forced inwardly oi the conically tapered portion of the pipe receiving member with a wedging action upon the cylindrical portion of the pipe engaging member deforming the same so that it is compressed into the tubing and so that the outsums tapered configuration oi the tapered portion or surface of said cylindrical portion tends to asg of the pipe engaging member being forced into the corresponding portion of the pipe receiving member serves to limit the radial compression of the cylindrical portion of the pipe engaging member with reference to the pipe and insures a tight sealing engagement of the pipe engaging member with the pipe receiving member.

Other objects, advantages and ieatures oi. the invention become apparent from the following detailed description oi the invention taken in con- Junction with the accompanying drawings in which- Flgure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the parts of the coupling in assembled relation with a length of pipe or tubing, the parts being shown in fully coupled relation.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, similar to Figure l but showing a modification in reference to the employment or an adapter member having a conlcally tapered interior seating portion for use when coupling smaller sizes of pipe with larger size coupling part.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the adapter member alone.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through the pipe engaging member alone.

Now referring to the drawing, the coupling, as shown in Figure 1, comprises a pipe receiving member or body designated by the numeral I having an exterior pipe thread 2 at one end thereof and a hexagonal or other non-circular portion 3 to provide a wrench-hold. The pipe receiving member I has interior screw threads I for cooperation with the correspondingly threaded portion I oi the coupling nut I which is likewise provided with the hexagonal or the non-circular portion 1 providing a wrench-hold.

Extending axially through the body of the pipe receiving member I is a passage I having a diameter substantially equal to the inside diameter of a pipe or tubing I to be coupled. The bore of the pipe receiving member I includes a cylindrical portion ll immediately adjacent to and of greater diameter than the passage I thereby providlng a shoulder or ledge H to be engaged by the end of the pipe I, the diameter of the cylindrical bore I. being substantially equal to the outer diameter of the pipe I. The bore 0! the pipe receiving member i has an outwardly flared portion Ila extending away from the enlarged cylindrical portion ll, said outwardly flared portion Ila being of conically tapered configuration and constituting a seat for sealing engagement with the correspondingly conically tapered peportion ll oi the pipe engaging memoi said pipe engaging member. The latter portion bar It.

The pipe engaging member I! is adapted to circumferentially engage the pipe 8 and to this end the member I! has a bore I4 whose diameter is substantially equal to or slightly larger than the exterior diameter of the pipe 8 whereby when the member I! Is circumferentially engaged with the pipe 9 the member I! is somewhat loose fitting to permit relative axial movement between the parts. The member I! has a portion I! the outer surface of which is cylindrical and the outer diameter of which is approximately equal to the minimum outer diameter of the conicaliy tapered portion I 3, the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion I5 being consequently somewhat greater than the minimum diameter of the conically tapered seat portion IIa of the bore of the pipe receiving member I. It is to be especially noted that the conically tapered outer surface of the portion II of the member I! is adapted to fit snugly within the conically tapered seat portion I la of the pipe receiving member I. Pipe engaging sleeve or collar member I! is formed with an annular recess I6 intermediate the portions It and It, said recess I8 reducing the wall thickness of the member I2 to provide a weakened connection between the portions I3 and I! permitting deformation of the portion I5 relative to the portion It of said member II.

The outer end of the member I2 has a conically tapered end edge surface If being adapted to be engaged by similarly conically tapered surface It at the inner end edge of the nut I.

In the use of the coupling of my invention, the nut i and the sleeve or collar member I! are slid over the end of the pipe or tubing 1 and the end of the latter is inserted into the pipe receiving member I until it abuts the ledge or shoulder II. Next the nut I is screwed into the threaded portion 4 of the member I and in this process the conically tapered surface I! of the nut 8 engages the similarly tapered end edge I! of the sleeve member I! causing the latter to be moved leftwardly relative to the pipe or tubing i forcing the cylindrical portion I! of the member I 2 into the conically tapered seat portion Ila of the member I. As the portion II of the sleeve I2 is forced into the seat No the conical taper of the latter causes the portion II of the sleeve II to be compressed radially deforming the portion I I relative to the portion ll of the sleeve I2 tending to cause the exterior cylindrical surface of the portion I! to conform with the conicaily tapered exterlor surface of the portion II of the sleeve I2. This action causes the radial compression or squeezing of the portion II of the sleeve I2 into the pipe or tubing a resulting in circumferential radial inward deformation of the pipe or tubing l as indicated at is adjacent the end edge II of the sleeve If. The deformation of the portion I I of the sleeve I2 relative to the portion II is permitted by the weakened connection between these portions provided by the annular recess Ii.

While the radial inward compression of the portion II of the member I2 causes the end edge III to dig slightly into the metal of the exterior of the tubing 9 as at I la, the extent of this digging and deforming action with respect to the pipe or tubing 9 is limited by the tight seating engagement of the sonically tapered surface of the portion II of the sleeve II with the tapered seat Ho. The tight seating engagement of the portion II of the sleeve I! with theseat Ila positively limits the inward movement of the sleeve II relative to the tapered seat Ila so that ex- 4 treme deformation of the tubing 8 which might result in fracture thereof is prevented.

The modified coupling illustrated in Figure 2 comprises the same elements as previously described, namely. the pipe receiving member I, the nut 6, the pipe engaging member I2. and the pipe or tubing 9' with which the member I! is adapted to be circumferentially engaged. However in this modified coupling of Figure 2 the pipe or tubing 8' has an exterior diameter smaller than the cylindrical portion ll of the member I and even smaller than the diameter of the passage 8 therein. For the purpose of coupling this smaller diameter pipe 9 in the larger diameter pipe receiving member I. I utilize an adapter member 2| having an exterior cylindrical surface 22 of a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the cylindrical portion I 0 of the member I, said adapter member 2| having a conically tapered exterior surface 23 corresponding to the taper of the seat portion No of the member I. The adapter member 2| is formed with an internal shoulder or ledge 2| with which the end of the pipe 9 is adapted to engage when the adapter member is disposed within the pipe receiving member I as shown in Figure 2. The adapter member II is provided with a central bore forming the passage 28 and the enlarged cylindrical portion 26 approximating the exterior diameter of the pipe or tubing I. Extending from the portion 26 is the outwardly flared or conieally tapered seat 21 having a conical taper substantially corresponding to that of the portion I! of the sleeve member I2. The cylindrical portion II of the sleeve I 2' functions in the same manner as previously described. being radially inwardly compressed on to the tube I when caused to enter the tapered seat 11 of the adapter 2i when the nut G is tightened up relative to the pipe receiving member I into engagement with the sleeve I2 as shown in Figure 2, the sleeve and nut being disposed upon the tubing I and the latter disposed within the adapter II asshown.

It is notable that the cylindrical portion I! or II of the sleeve I2 or I2 is of relatively short axial length and I have found It preferable to make the axial length of this portion about irrespective of the diameter of the sleeve or the other dimensions thereof. This insures sufficient squeezing of the cylindrical portion II or II onto the tube I or 1 without undue deformation thereof at the point II such as to cause fracture. The axial length of the portions II and It has been exaggerated in the drawings.

It is noted also that as the tapered portion I! or II of the sleeve if or II is forced into the tapered seat Ila or 21, portion II or II is also thereby radially inwardly compressed and squeaed onto the tube 9 or 8' with slight deformation of the tube as at 30 or II, the outer edge of the sleeve being caused to dig slightly into the metal of the tube 9 or 9' as at II or II. This prevents backing of the sleeve axially relative to the tube as the sleeve is forced into the tapered seat Ila or 21. In order to assist the action of radial inward compression of the tapered portion II or II of the sleeve, I preferably make the cone angle of the surface it slightly less (e. g., about 43) than the cone angle of the surface II which may be about 45. As the sleeve is forced into the seat Ila or U and inward radial compression of portion II or II is effected. the surfaces I1 and II are caused BURCH ROON 5 to conform substantially with one another as shown in the drawing.

Having thus described my invention. what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 0! the United States is:

A pipe coupling of the class described comprising, in combination. a pipe receiving member having a cylindrical bore for-receiving a pipe in circumierential engagement therewith and having an internal outwardly flared conical seat, a pipe engaging member having a conically tapered portion snugly engageable with said seat and a normally cylindrical portion extending from the narrow end of said tapered portion and having a weakened connection with said tapered portion, said cylindrical portion being peripherally engageable with said seat intermediate the ends thereof, the outer diameter of said cylindrical peripheral portion corresponding to the minimum diameter of said tapered portion and a nut member co-operable with said pipe receiving member and with said pipe engaging member for effecting movement of the latter axially 6 inwardly of said seat to deform said cylindrical portion radially inwardly thereof relative to said tapered portion, and to compress the tapered portion radially inwardLv thereof, said tapered portion being engageable with said seat to limit said axial inward movement of said pipe engaging member.

JOHN A MA'IOUSEK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

